On 21 September, the Canadian Ambassador to El Salvador, H.E. Ms. Maryse Guilbeault, met with the San Salvador officials who were attending the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme (CCP) training.

El Salvador has recently joined this programme of the WCO and UNODC to strengthen its risk profiling capacities on containerized cargo in seaports. Currently, 31 countries participate in the CCP and funding for additional 23 countries is available.

The theoretical training held in San Salvador from 12 to 23 September 2016 marked the first stage of the implementation of the structured CCP training concept; a series of training activities will follow and add additional layers of expertise.

Canada is a major donor to CCP activities, in particular in Latin America and Southeast Asia. H.E. Ambassador Guilbeault underlined the importance of the engagement of the Canadian Government in the Central and South American region, and the relevance of the CCP in the fight against illicit goods in general as well as the proliferation of strategic goods in particular.

The WCO training experts and the officials of El Salvador were honored by the visit of the Canadian Ambassador and confirmed their commitment to set up a functioning Port Control Unit to tackle illicit trade whilst ensuring the facilitation of legitimate shipments.